List of bus lanes in Hong Kong
Bus Lane or Bus-only Lane, also known as " bus-only lanes " or " bus line " is one of the measures imposed by the government, "public transport priority schemes" (Public Transport Priority Scheme), the purpose of Providing dedicated lanes to public buses in the busy areas to enable the buses to pass through these roads more quickly or at specified times to enhance the speed of operation and enhance the operational stability of the bus services. The majority of bus passengers benefit. Most leading to the bus terminal entrance road with a "bus-only entrance" (Bus-only Lane Changing the Positions), for example, Lai King (North) Terminal, Pak Tin Station and Siu Sai Wan (Island Resort) Public Transport Interchange. Generally, without affecting the road capacity, a short bus line is used to facilitate the bus to enter the terminus in a more direct path. Vehicles other than buses must use other routes if they want to enter the same terminal. As of May 2018, there were more than 23 kilometers of bus lines and 14 bus-only entrances. Policy In the case of increasing traffic and limited roads, traffic congestion will inevitably affect the stability of bus services . The Transport Department has been studying the implementation of priority road use measures for public transport to make good use of limited road resources. At present, all major roads in Hong Kong have different bus priority facilities under the circumstances. The bus routes are the most common, allowing buses to pass through busy sections in a shorter period of time and reducing travel time. Public buses are under the policy and have absolute priority to use bus lanes. The provision of bus lanes is actually a redistribution of the right of buses and other road users to use limited road space. In considering whether a bus lane should be provided, the Government should balance the impact of this measure on users of different types of roads. In the implementation of the setting up of the bus lanes, the Transport Department will assess the overall effectiveness of the bus services (such as the reduction in the travelling time) and whether the road section can withstand the traffic flow after setting up the bus lanes. It will also consider the actual road and traffic conditions, including roads and The intersection design, the number of lanes, the number of bus lines and shifts, other vehicle traffic, alternative routes, and the impact on other vehicles, and carefully assess their feasibility to achieve the right balance. The Government has set up a bus lane in accordance with section 12 of the Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Ordinance (Cap. 374G). Unlike the restricted area , the Ordinance does not require a notice to be published in the Gazette when setting up a bus lane . The Transport Department only has to issue a notice of traffic. The bus lane will take effect. The bus lanes are only allowed to operate on "franchised buses" or "franchised buses and non-franchised buses". Other vehicles are required to use lanes or other alternative routes in parallel with the bus lanes. The bus lanes for franchised buses are only allowed . The signs are blue and white double-decker bus patterns. The bus lanes are available for all public buses. The signs are blue and white "bus BUS" on the signs. If the entire route of the road is designated as a bus only, the Government will set up a bus lane in the form of a restricted zone . If only certain lanes of the road are designated for bus use only, they will be classified as bus lanes. The two types of bus lines are valid for full-time or for a specified period of time. If the bus route does not take effect throughout the day, an auxiliary card below the sign will specify the bus line effective time. All vehicles can use the lane outside the bus line implementation time. The new bus lane markings, which came into effect on July 1, 2001, will more clearly show that there is a bus lane on a certain section of the road and indicate the implementation period. On the bus lane, the white thick solid line with a width of 250 mm on the top of the bus lane indicates the boundary line. If the intersection where other vehicles are allowed to cross is a thick white dotted line, the implementation period of the special line is displayed by the road mark at intervals . Remind motorists that every 50 to 100 meters in urban roads and 250 to 400 meters in suburban roads. At the end of the bus terminus, the sign indicates "Terminal Line Termination" (the old version is "Bus Dedicated Line So far") in black on a white background. It is followed by a road marking indicating that the lane is open to all vehicles. History Hong Kong's first bus-only lanes set up in September 1973, is located in the Wan Chai District Leighton Road westbound between Ji Lihua Cricket Club and Canal Road East between. In response to increasingly busy main road traffic, the Hong Kong Government since 1980 to implement " public transport priority schemes " (Public Transport Priority Scheme), set aside a dedicated road to the public lane (including bus and tram) in the main road. Before 1983, the so-called bus lane was set up in the form of a restricted zone under the then Road Traffic Ordinance (Chapter 220). Even a bus lane which was implemented only on one of the lanes of the road was no exception. In September 1983, the Government amended the Road Traffic Ordinance (Chapter 374). Its subsidiary legislation, the Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Regulation (now 374G) (9), first defined the "bus line". Separate it from the restricted area and specify the style of its road markings. Since then, the number of bus lines that have been legally based on the restricted area has gradually decreased, and the new bus line has been replaced. The last section of the bus lane, which is suitable for individual lanes and is set up in the form of a restricted zone , is the farthest toll booth in the direction of the Harbour Tunnel Toll Plaza to Hong Kong Island, that is, the automatic payment channel next to the Administration Building. It will take effect from May 22, 1992. In the early 1990s, the use of Tuen Mun Road was becoming more and more busy. It was often severely congested during peak hours on weekdays, which greatly affected the bus services in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long. In view of this, the Administration has been conducting a three-week bus line trial on Tuen Mun Road since March 25, 1995 . Monday to Saturday morning at 6:30 to 09:00, Mun Road Tsuen Wan bound between Wat Tsuen Wan outlet slow lane bus lane embodiment, except for franchised buses and NFB including school buses and tour buses running; in addition allowed to use bus-only lanes of vehicles, other vehicles are strictly prohibited Siu Lam Interchange and Sham Tseng Interchange heading for Kowloon bound Tuen Mun road. The bus lane has become the first bus lane in Hong Kong to be built on the expressway . The Government has to amend the Road Traffic (Expressway) Regulations specifically for this purpose. On April 12, 1995, the government extended the trial period by three weeks, and the bus line was postponed until 7:00 am. Two months later, the authorities reopened the deep well interchange on June 12 by trial. The bus line implementation time was shortened from 07:30 to 9:00 in the morning from 2004. In 1994, the Transport Branch published the Report on the Working Group on Traffic Congestion Measures. It proposed to implement a cross-boundary bus line plan to encourage the public to use public transport more. The Legislative Council debated this proposal in 1995. As a result, Members agreed that buses should be given priority in using the road. In the same year, the Governor issued a Policy Address and promised to hire consultants to study the feasibility of delineating bus routes in Hong Kong. In August 1996, the Administration used $4.6 million to commission a consultant to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of a cross-regional bus line. The research included investigation, planning, design and assessment, and piloted a bus line plan. The authorities selected six major corridors for research, including: *Aberdeen - Wan Chai - Central District ; *Kwun Tong - To Kwa Wan / Hung Hom - Tsim Sha Tsui ; *Tseung Kwan O - Kwun Tong ; *Sheung Shui - Sha Tin - Tsim Sha Tsui ; *Tuen Mun - Kwai Chung - Tsim Sha Tsui ; *Tsing Yi - Kwai Chung . On April 11, 1997, the Government reported the progress of the feasibility study to the Legislative Council Panel on Transport. At that time, the Central reclamation project underway, many roads also conducting projects , the authorities selected "Aberdeen - Wan Chai - Central Corridor" of research, suggested a trial bus lane scheme in Aberdeen and Wan Chai, is expected to pilot bus-only lanes During the time, 51 bus routes will benefit a total of about 90,000 passengers. The plan is implemented in two phases: *The first issue (June 1997) **Opened the entire bus lane along Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen **Wan Chai direction: Effective from 07:00-10:00 on weekdays; Aberdeen direction: Effective from 16:00-19:00 on weekdays *Opened the entire bus line along Morrison Hill Road, Wan Chai **Wan Chai direction: Effective from 07:00-10:00 on weekdays; Aberdeen direction: Effective from 16:00-19:00 on weekdays **A new taxi stand at Chongde Street off Morrison Hill Road *The second phase (in November 1997, the Western Harbour Crossing was opened to traffic for six months, and the traffic flow was stabilized) **Along the westbound carriageway of Wan Loi and Hennessy Road , Wan Chai will be provided with the entire bus lane to Arsenal Street (effective from 07:00-10:00 on weekdays) **A bus lane will be set up on the eastbound carriageway of Hennessy Road from the junction of Tin Lok Estate to the right-hand drive lane of Canal Road East (with effect on weekdays) **Six bus routes on the southbound carriageway of Wan Chai Road westbound to Central will be diverted to Hennessy Road to facilitate traffic using the bus lanes at Tin Lok Lane and the right-turn lanes at Canal Road East. **Relocation of two tram stops During the public consultation period, many organizations and organizations concerned about the impact of the bus line on the eastbound carriageway of Hennessy Road , Lockhart Road and Tin Lok Lane , and were dissatisfied with the reduction of the passenger and cargo area. Therefore, the Administration did not cover the eastbound Hennessy Road from Arsenal Street to Shing Wai Road, and the loading and unloading area at Lockhart Road and Chong Delhi. Test Results The first phase was finally implemented on August 23, 1997. The arrangement of Citybus Routes 37A , 75 , 90 and 97 to Central and the passage of Tin Lok and Hennessy Road was also implemented as early as the first phase. Investigations were conducted in September and October. It was found that the five Southern District bus routes after the diversion were reduced by 2.5 minutes during peak hours in the morning. The bus arrivals increased from 12.5% to 25.4% within one minute of the scheduled time. Within two minutes. The percentage of arrivals increased from 34% to 47.5%. On the other hand, the traffic congestion at Wan Chai Road was slightly relieved due to the reduction of five routes. The bus journey time was shortened by half a minute in the morning peak hours and 1.1 minutes in the afternoon peak hours. As a result of a complaint from the public about the establishment of a bus lane at Wong Chuk Hang Road westbound, it has hindered other vehicles. The Administration has shortened the bus lanes in view of their failure to achieve the expected effect. Subsequently, the Government proposed to revise the second phase of the bus line test plan and split it into two sets of measures; *Phase 2A (Revised implementation date: before the end of March 1998; actually implemented on March 7 ) **In the days in Lok to Luard of Hennessy Road westbound provision of three sections BOLs, retention portion along the loading and unloading areas, for public light buses and other vehicles; **The six Southern District bus routes along Hennessy Road eastbound, including Citybus Routes 37B , 75 , 90 , 97 , CMB 590 and 94X , will be diverted via southbound Fenwick Street and eastbound Johnston Road ; **Adjust the bus stops along Hennessy Road and Johnston Road. *Phase 2B (Revised implementation date: before the end of August 1998; never actually implemented) **To set up a bus lane on Hennessy Road eastbound and turn right onto the Canal Road bus lane and re-route a pair of tram stops at Canal Road. In May 2000, the Government reported to the Legislative Council on the latest progress of the pilot scheme of the Aberdeen to Wan Chai Bus Dedicated Line. It was considered that the test was satisfactory. The effect of the bus conversion on Fenwick Street and Johnston Road had little impact on other modes of transport. The journey time of the bus was shortened by 2.3 minutes. The driving time of other vehicles increased slightly by about 0.4 minutes. The bus arrival time increased from 12% to 24%. The bus journey time to Aberdeen was shortened by about 2.9 minutes. A slight increase of about 1.2 minutes, the bus on-time arrival rate increased from 12% to 13%. The results of the implementation of the Aberdeen to Wan Chai Bus Dedicated Line Scheme will be used as reference materials for the design of bus lanes for other traffic corridors.